Category: Australian News

Children aged between 12 and 15 years will be able to book a COVID-19 Pfizer vaccine from September 13 following the Morrison Government’s decision to implement expert medical advice.
Bookings will be available through GPs, Commonwealth Vaccination Clinics and Aboriginal Community Controlled Health Organisations. Each state and territory will advise when their state vaccination clinics will open to this group.
The Australian Technical Advisory Group on Immunisation (ATAGI) reviewed detailed medical evidence and recommended Pfizer’s COVID-19 vaccination in all children and adolescents 12 years of age and above.
Prime Minister Scott Morrison said the Moderna vaccine would also be made available subject to approvals from the Therapeutic Goods Administration (TGA) and ATAGI recommendations for 12-18 year olds.
“Vaccinating young people will protect them and provide peace of mind to their family,” the Prime Minster said.
“Importantly, this decision provides the opportunity for families to come together to visit their GP and get vaccinated.”
Coordinator General of Operation COVID Shield Lieutenant General John Frewen has been working with the Commonwealth and states and territories on coordinating an approach for this age group while supporting those jurisdictions wishing to undertake a school based vaccination later in the year. This detail will be outlined by each state and territory.
It is expected that all children 12-18 years of age will have access to a vaccine during the course of 2021. The age group between 12 and 15 comprises of approximately 1.2 million children.
Minister for Health and Aged Care Greg Hunt said the decision was based on the final advice of ATAGI and approval by the TGA. In their advice to Government, ATAGI concludes that the severity of COVID-19 is less in adolescents compared with adults.
“To date, we’ve administered almost 18.4 million COVID-19 vaccines around Australia. I want to thank everyone who has come forward so far to receive their first and second doses, you’re doing an incredible job,” Minister Hunt said.
“I would encourage all parents from September 13 to visit the eligibility checker and book your child in for their vaccination, so we can ensure all Australians are protected from COVID-19.”
Minister for Education and Youth Alan Tudge said the rollout of the vaccines to younger Australians should give more confidence to jurisdictions to keep schools open and community activity alive.
“Some students have missed more than half a year of face-to-face learning, and it is critically important that we get all students back in classrooms as soon as possible,” Minister Tudge said.
“Keeping kids in schools is so important, not just for their education, but for their mental health, physical development and to have those critical interactions with their peers and teachers.”
Parents should check the COVID-19 eligibility checker from 13 September to book in their child’s vaccination.
The Therapeutic Goods Administration is also currently considering the use of the Moderna vaccine in 12-17 years of age as a priority, with a decision expected soon.
Pharmacies will come on board to administer Moderna subject to approval by the TGA and ATAGI.
The Commonwealth Government has secured more than 280 million COVID-19 vaccines, including 125 million Pfizer-BioNTech vaccines and 25 million Moderna vaccines.

“Traditional Owners of the Gundanji and Garawa nation do not consent to fracking in the Beetaloo basin, but the government has put $50 million towards doing it anyway,” said DjabWurrung, Gunnai and Gunditjmara woman Lidia Thorpe, the Greens Senator for Victoria.
“These are communities that don’t even have access to proper health and housing infrastructure. As a government, it’s our job to provide this and instead of doing that we’re paying private companies to poison their waters and destroy their lands.
“This violates the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, which the Australian government has signed up to. This Declaration guarantees First Nations people the right to approve or deny projects happening on their country before the project begins.
“We need First Nations justice to achieve climate justice. I’m disappointed in Labor’s support to disrespect the wishes of all those Traditional Owners they say they support. Shame.”
The Greens spokesperson for Mining & Resources, Senator Larissa Waters said, “The Greens-initiated Senate inquiry into the $50 million fracking slush fund heard from Traditional Owners across the Northern Territory, deeply concerned about gas extraction in the Beetaloo Basin.
“They told us that they had not been consulted in any meaningful way by this government, or by the companies so eager to pillage Country. They told us they were worried for their water, for their kids and for their access to cultural practices. But their valid concerns were ignored when both big parties voted to support public money going to new fossil fuels in a climate crisis, without First Nations consent.
“The Greens have had a bill since 2012 to ban fracking and to give First Nations, farmers and other landholders the right to say no to gas fracking.
“Yesterday, Labor had the opportunity to be on the right side of history and vote with the Greens against this dodgy program. But they sadly sided with the Liberals.
“We’ll give Labor one more opportunity to do the right thing by First Nations people, water and the climate when we bring a second and final disallowance motion to a vote in the Senate in October.”

The Morrison Government has welcomed the release of the National Policy Roadmap to Being Equally Well, which aims to improve the physical health care provided to Australians living with serious mental illness.
The Being Equally Well Roadmap is aimed at reducing the life expectancy gap for people living with a mental illness, and shows that physical health and wellbeing must be a priority for health care providers when working with a person living with a mental illness.
People with a serious mental illness are more likely to die between 14–23 years earlier than the average and their deaths make up around one third of all avoidable deaths in Australia.
They are six times more likely to die of cardiovascular disease and four times more likely to die of respiratory disease. We need to ensure that these rates are turned around.
Minister for Health and Aged Care, Greg Hunt, said the current COVID-19 pandemic was taking a toll on the mental health and wellbeing of Australians, especially those living with a mental illness.
“Our Government is committed to addressing the critical issue of mental health and suicide prevention, and in 2021–22 an estimated $6.5 billion will be spent on mental health in Australia, including Medicare rebates for mental health care,” Minister Hunt said.
“Through our historic $2.3 billion National Mental Health and Suicide Prevention Plan we have also committed to providing additional funding for the Equally Well Program to support improvements to the physical health of those living with a mental illness.
The Being Equally Well Roadmap is the work of the Australian Health Policy Collaboration (AHPC), Equally Well Australia, health professionals and multi-disciplinary academic experts.
Professor of Health Policy and Director of the Australian Health Policy Collaboration, Professor Rosemary Calder AM, said better physical health and longer lives for people living with mental illness needs the combined skills and expertise of both mental health and primary health services.
“Both mental and physical health care need to be connected and to have capacity to support the complex needs of individuals over their lifetimes. Primary health care is central to better physical health care and this report shows how the role of primary care can be strengthened and supported,” Professor Calder said.
“This report is the result of the collaboration of chronic disease and population health practitioners, mental health practitioners and consumers and carers who have worked together to identify how best to do so.”
The AHPC is led by the Mitchell Institute at Victoria University, linking leading health organisations and chronic disease experts to inform better policy through the findings of rigorous health research.
Vice-Chancellor of Victoria University, Adam Shoemaker, said equity of access to opportunity lies at the heart of what drives Victoria University and it was that commitment which led to the establishment of the Mitchell Institute.
“This project represents those deep aspirations. We are confident that it will assist with providing greater access towards equity of health and health outcomes for people living with mental illness. For that reason we are particularly grateful for the support of the Department of Health,” Mr Shoemaker said.
The Morrison Government has provided $600,000 over three years to the AHPC, and from 2021–22 will contribute a further $600,000 over the coming three years to 2023–24.
The Being Equally Well Roadmap will encourage clinicians and policy-makers to give a greater focus to physical health in the treatment of mental ill health, and help to close the life expectancy gap for people with mental illness.

If Scott Morrison was any kind of leader, purpose-built quarantine facilities would be up and running by now.
Instead, it again falls to a state Premier to fill the leadership vacuum, with Annastacia Palaszczuk committing to fast-tracking the purpose-built quarantine facility proposed at Wellcamp, near Toowoomba.
It’s been more than 18 months since the first COVID case in Australia.
Premier Palaszczuk proposed Wellcamp as a fit for purpose facility in January.
This project could be safely quarantining people right now.
Scott Morrison had two jobs this year – rolling out the vaccine and fixing quarantine. 
He has fundamentally failed at both.
Quarantine is a Federal responsibility. With this Prime Minister, all responsibilities are always shipped to someone else.
If Scott Morrison had done his job – there would have been fewer than the 27 disastrous outbreaks from hotel quarantine.
If Scott Morrison had done his job – there wouldn’t be 38,000 stranded Australians left overseas desperate to get home.
If Scott Morrison had done his job – the extended, devastating lockdowns on the east coast wouldn’t be happening.
From the Prime Minister known for his “I don’t hold a hose” and “it’s not a race” style of accountability, today’s press conference was another shining example of his lack of leadership.
Now one can add “She has been at liberty to do that for months” and “Good for them, I wish them every success” to the litany of examples of this Prime Minister’s absence of leadership, revulsion at responsibility, and his reflexive avoidance of simply ever just doing his job.

The Greens and the disability community have achieved another huge win!
After years of raising the alarm that the confidentiality provisions in the Disability Royal Commission are insufficient, the disability community, alongside Greens Senator Jordon Steele-John, have locked in amendments that will allow those with confidential information to come forward to the Disability Royal Commission with trust.
The Royal Commission into violence, abuse, neglect, and exploitation of disabled people was established in 2019. The changes that passed the Senate today, will ensure that information provided to the Commission in confidence, will remain confidential after the Royal Commission ends, and there are stronger protections for those who expose the failings of organisations such as a government department, corporations, or institutions.
Greens Senator Jordon Steele-John, Disability Rights & Services Spokesperson said: 
“Together, The Greens and the Disability Community have again demonstrated our power, and have succeeded in getting outcomes that will improve the lives of disabled people.
“The changes that passed the Senate, will give disabled people security that the information they give to the Disability Royal Commission will remain confidential over time. These changes also enact stronger protections for folks who bravely come forward to blow the whistle, exposing the failings of organisations such as government departments, corporations, or institutions.
“The Greens are encouraging everyone to share their experience of violence, abuse, neglect, and exploitation with the Commission. They need to hear from all of us to get a total picture of violence, abuse and neglect that is occurring in all settings all across the country.
“At the next election, with a small change in the vote, The Greens can be in balance of power. The Greens, alongside the community, have already achieved so much for the disability community, and in the balance of power we will prioritise ensuring all disabled people are able to access the NDIS quickly, where ever they are across the country, and we will be in a position to ensure the recommendations that will be made by the Royal Commission are implemented thoroughly and quickly.”

The Australian Greens have savaged Labor’s decision to vote with the Liberals today in the Senate to spend public money opening up massive gas fields in the Beetaloo Basin, saying the move raised questions as to whether Labor still believes the climate crisis is real.
If Labor had voted with the Greens and crossbench, the fund would have been abolished, given the numbers in the Senate. Labor is responsible for the continued existence of the $50 million Beetaloo Co-operative Drilling Program to open up new gas projects.
The Greens have vowed to revisit the issue when Parliament meets again in October, and off the back of the Labor party writing to the Auditor-General to investigate the fund they support, the Australian Greens have also written to the ANAO asking for this work to be completed before the next and final vote.
The fund is being used to funnel money to a donor to Liberal and Labor. Major grant beneficiary Empire Energy’s majority shareholder is billionaire Dale Elphinstone, a regular donor to the Liberal Party and a Liberal Party Life Member. Empire Energy also donated $25,000 to both the Northern Territory Labor Party and Country Liberal Party during the 2020 territory election.
There is almost 70 years’ worth of Australia’s emissions in the NT gas basins and fracking the NT will lift our own annual emissions by up to 6%.
Leader of the Australian Greens, Adam Bandt MP said:
“In the middle of a climate crisis, Labor is backing the Liberals using public money to open up new gas fields.
“Gas is as dirty as coal. Labor’s decision to vote with the Liberals to open up new gas fields makes you wonder if they accept the science of climate change.
“Scientists are screaming at us to keep coal, oil and gas in the ground, but Labor and Liberal have just used public money to open up massive gas reserves, lighting the fuse on a giant climate bomb.
“This is a climate crime. Public money should go to schools and hospitals, not Liberal and Labor corporate gas donors who are cooking our future.
“It is clear the Liberals have to be kicked out, but Labor can’t be trusted to act on the climate crisis, so we need to put the Greens in balance of power in both houses of Parliament.
“If Labor had voted with the Greens instead of the Liberals, we would have won. We had the numbers.
“It is Labor who has allowed this climate crime to happen.
“It’s not too late for Labor to change their mind and defuse this climate bomb, with a final disallowance vote set for 19 October.”
Australian Greens Leader in the Senate, Senator Larissa Waters said:
“Labor talks a big game on climate, but their track record falls well short of their rhetoric. Time after time, presented with the opportunity to stand up to this dodgy government and fight for climate action, they turn tail and run.
“Perhaps we shouldn’t expect much more from a party that can’t even commit to a 2030 ermissions reduction target, and a party that pockets millions in donations from gas and coal companies.
“Senator Watt said that if people want to know where Labor stands they should look to their policy platform. Well, I think people are going to be looking at Labor’s voting record, and I think they’ll see quite clearly that when Labor had the chance to stop public money going to a climate-wrecking project they didn’t take it.
“By siding with the Libs to give money to a major donor to frack the Northern Territory, against the explicit wishes of Traditional Owners, Labor is giving First Nations people and all Australians a clear and unambiguous message: ‘We don’t care about you.’”
Chair of the Senate Environment Committee, Senator Sarah Hanson-Young said:
“The Senate should have put an end to this rort today.
“It’s disappointing the Labor Party can identify all the ways in which this program is dodgy yet has allowed it to continue.
“Millions of dollars of taxpayer money is destined for a bunch of gas cowboys to create a climate bomb and due to Labor’s capitulation, now even more money will be handed out under this dodgy program.
“The evidence uncovered by the Senate Inquiry into this program showed there was no proper due-diligence, a $21m cheque was handed over on a ‘first in, first served’ basis and the recipient is a donor to the Liberal Party.
“The Greens will keep fighting to put a stop to this program because not only is the taxpayer being rorted, our climate is being ripped off too.”

The Morrison Government is providing additional support to small and medium sized businesses (SMEs) who continue to deal with the economic impacts of the COVID-19 crisis by expanding eligibility for the SME Recovery Loan Scheme.
In recognition of the continued economic impacts of COVID-19, the Government will remove requirements for SMEs to have received JobKeeper during the March quarter of 2021 or to have been a flood affected business in order to be eligible under the SME Recovery Loan Scheme.
As with the existing scheme, SMEs who are dealing with the economic impacts of the coronavirus with a turnover of less than $250 million will be able to access loans of up to $5 million over a term of up to 10 years. Other key features of the SME Recovery Loan Scheme include:

• The Government guarantee will be 80 per cent of the loan amount.
• Lenders are allowed to offer borrowers a repayment holiday of up to 24 months.
• Loans can be used for a broad range of business purposes, including to support investment.
• Loans may be used to refinance any pre-existing debt of an eligible borrower, including those from the SME Guarantee Scheme.
• Loans can be either unsecured or secured (excluding residential property).

The expanded Scheme will enable lenders to continue supporting Australian small businesses when they need it most.
The SME Recovery Loan Scheme builds on earlier loan schemes introduced during COVID-19, under which around 74,000 loans totalling around $6.2 billion were written.
The loans will be available through participating lenders until 31 December 2021. The expansion complements other financial support the Commonwealth is offering to businesses impacted by the current COVID-19 health restrictions.
The Morrison Government will continue to support small businesses as they seek to rebuild, adapt and create jobs on the other side of this crisis.
Further information can be found on the Treasury website.

The Greens say Labor’s decision today to wave through changes to the Electoral Act that will increase membership minimums and give existing parties veto power over new rivals’ names, limits democratic participation and entrenches the two-party system.
Greens deputy leader and spokesperson on democracy Senator Larissa Waters said:
“The Libs and Labor are running scared. They know they’re on the nose with the electorate and they know their share of the primary vote is collapsing. This is a blatant and utterly shameless attempt to shore up their power.
“Today, the old parties have told all Australians that they are willing to use their combined numbers in parliament to entrench their duopoly and shut out diverse voices.
“With an election looming dozens of minor parties are now at risk of being deregistered. It’s an attack on our democracy at a time when neither the Libs nor Labor can be trusted to act in the interests of anyone else other than their corporate donors.
“The Bill refers to ‘Party Registration Integrity’. Lack of integrity in the major parties is exactly why the crossbench is the largest in history. But rather than change their behaviour, the big parties just want to close the doors to new players.
“A healthy representative democracy should welcome wide and diverse political engagement. What does it say about our own democracy that both the government and opposition are in lockstep on such undemocratic reforms?
“Thankfully, Labor has backed the Greens in opposing changes that would saddle civil society organisations with significant financial and disclosure burdens and make it harder for them to engage in public debate. I urge the crossbench to join us in opposing those changes and protecting public interest advocacy.”

“First Nations people have been a priority group for the COVID-19 vaccine since December 2020, yet our vaccination rates in Western NSW are among the lowest in the country,” said DjabWurrung, Gunnai and Gunditjmara woman Lidia Thorpe, the Greens Senator for Victoria.
“When COVID-19 hit, governments around the country sent our communities body bags, not the PPE we asked for. I’m hearing reports of healthy people being forced to stay in overcrowded homes with people who have COVID-19. They need to stop blocking us from being healthy.
“People have been turned away from supermarkets and food has been withheld from families while staff underwent training. How much training to you need to deliver a box?
“Walgett only has a four–bed hospital, the next nearest hospital is three hours away. Smaller towns are entitled to the same quality of healthcare and access to essentials as major cities. These communities have been neglected for decades and because of this First Nations people are getting sicker and dying earlier. It’s not good enough.
“First Nations people know what’s best for our communities. Elders in western NSW are demanding more vaccines, nurses to support Aboriginal Medical Services and suitable accommodation so people can quarantine effectively and safely.
“Aboriginal children between the ages of 10 to 19 make up 40% of cases of COVID-19 in western NSW. We don’t know what impact COVID-19 has on growing bodies, but we shouldn’t be putting kids at risk. Children and teenagers must be included in vaccine targets now.” said Thorpe.
Greens Senator for NSW Mehreen Faruqi said:
“Communities across New South Wales and the country have been massively let down by a botched-up vaccine rollout. This has had disproportionate and harmful impacts on First Nations and multicultural communities across our state.
“Systemic racism has clearly played a role in the government’s failure to keep communities safe and an obsession with policing over public health measures that actually work.
“Communities must be supported, not vilified and blamed as part of a strategy to distract from the government’s own failures.”
The Greens are calling for all eligible 12+ year olds to immediately be included in vaccination targets and rollout, adequate resourcing in terms of medical supplies and personnel, full access to health services and more intensive care units to meet higher demand.

The Australian Greens have slammed Labor for joining the Liberals in allowing $21 million of public money to be handed to a company deeply connected to Minister Taylor and the Liberals, using public money to fund new gas projects in a time of climate crisis.
At today’s Labor Caucus meeting, the party confirmed it intends to vote with the government on a Greens disallowance motion that would have blocked $50m from being gifted to gas companies headquartered in tax havens that want to kick start a 6% rise in Australia’s pollution.
The Senate Environment Committee has uncovered compelling evidence of the scheme being rorted to suit Liberal Party donors and billionaire ‘Liberal Life Members’. Previous moves to challenge the gas-fired recovery have succeeded in the Senate with Labor’s support, but Labor’s vote with the government would ensure it is blocked.
Leader of the Australian Greens, Adam Bandt MP said:
“Yet again, Labor is siding with the Liberals to support gas and coal, forking over public money to corporate gas donors to fast-track climate collapse” Mr Bandt said.
“There’s 68 years’ worth of Australia’s pollution in the NT gas basins, and the gas needs to stay in the ground. In the middle of a climate crisis, public money should not go to new gas projects. Every time Labor votes with the Liberals, it pushes us closer to the existential brink.
“After Sports Rorts and Car Park grants, it’s shocking that Labor is backing another Liberal party slush fund. Everything about this grant scheme stinks.”
Australian Greens Leader in the Senate, Senator Larissa Waters said:
“Let’s be very clear what’s happened here: in the middle of a climate crisis the Morrison government has gifted $21 million in public money to a major donor’s company to frack the Northern Territory. And Labor today has said, ‘Yes, we think that’s fine.’
“Unlike Sportsrorts and Pork and Ride, the Senate could stop this rort from the start. The disallowance would have terminated a $50 million slush fund for Liberal party mates to cook the planet, put groundwater at risk, and ignore the wishes of First Nations communities. $50 million that could go to health, education, public housing. Labor had the chance to do things differently, and they folded. Again.
“We’re disappointed, but we shouldn’t be surprised. We know that Labor and the Libs dance to the tune of their massive corporate donors. Today is proof that both parties will sell out the environment, the climate and First Nations people to keep their campaign coffers full.”
Chair of the Senate Environment Committee, Sarah Hanson-Young said:
“The Beetaloo grants program has given millions of dollars of taxpayer money to a bunch of gas cowboys.
“The Department confirmed under evidence there was no proper due-diligence before granting millions of dollars of public money to the Liberal-linked Empire Energy. The $21m cheque was handed over on a ‘first in, first served’ basis.
“This is another rort with favours for mates, Liberal Party donors, and an alleged insider trader. The only criteria that seems to be applied to approving these grants is being mates with the Liberal Party.
“The evidence uncovered by the Senate Inquiry shows this fund has already been poorly administered and not only is the taxpayer being rorted, our climate is being ripped off too.
“The Parliament should not ignore this evidence and should vote to terminate this fund.”